


Social Lessons

by oudkee



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: F/F, Love at First Sight, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22063030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oudkee/pseuds/oudkee
Summary: i will write a summary later if i remember to write more chapters. rated teen due to content that may be in future chapters but i may change the rating later
Relationships: Kes/Seven of Nine
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Social Lessons

Oh-six-hundred hours. She stepped from her alcove, preparing herself for the day's routine. The ship's emergency medical hologram was ever so preoccupied with teaching her the "social skills" she needed to "fit in" with society better, now that she had transitioned from being Borg to something almost human... but not quite. She always saw the Doctor's lessons as an inefficient use of time, time that she could be spending helping to improve the ship's systems, or something else beneficial to the crew. Seven of Nine, as she had come to be addressed by the Borg - and now the crew of Voyager - saw no real _need_ to fit in with society. She was perfectly content with being on her own, living day to day as she was.

"Good morning, Seven!" that familiar, cheery voice chimed from next to one of the beds as soon as she stepped through the doors to Sick Bay. "Are you ready for your next social lesson?"

"Do I have a choice?" she replied in her usual flat tone.

The Doctor frowned at this, shaking his head. He turned away from Seven, walking over to his office. "As much as I want to pretend to be disappointed you don't take this seriously, I can't say I didn't have the same reaction when my friend was helping me learn how to fit in better with the crew."

"Oh?" replied Seven, a hint of curiosity now in her voice. "You mean you haven't always been programmed to be this... socially experienced?"

"Not necessarily. You probably only remember her briefly, but there was a girl named Kes aboard this ship until not long after you came on board."

"Tell me about this... 'Kes' individual."

The hologram stopped his work and became quiet, his eyes gazing down at the floor before looking back up at Seven, a sad expression crossing his face. "There isn't much to tell."

"If she was this helpful in teaching you your social skills, surely there has to be something important I can learn from knowing more about her."

"Maybe you should ask around the ship. That can be part of today's social lesson - asking others about their memories of Kes." He flashed a quick smirk at her, before turning his attention back to his work. "Honestly, I'm pretty busy analyzing these samples the away team collected. Consider this... 'homework', of sorts."

Seven looked inquisitive at this remark, but complied, nodding at the Doctor as she turned to leave the room. As she walked down the hall, she asked the computer to locate the ship's captain.

* * *

"Kes?" Captain Janeway asked, taking a sip from her mug and putting the PADD she was reading from on her desk before continuing. "What would you like to know about her?"

"The Doctor claims she was socially skilled and taught him everything he knows. I requested more information about her. He seemed reluctant to answer himself, instead giving me the assignment of learning about her from the other crew members."

A slightly sad look crossed Janeway's face. She put the mug down next to the PADD, tracing the rim of the mug with her finger, before folding her hands and looking back up at Seven. "Kes was a dear friend to all of us. She was highly intelligent, and nothing short of kind and gentle to every person she met. She was..." Janeway trailed off.

"Yes, Captain?"

"She was like a daughter to me."

Seven contemplated this for a moment. She wondered, how someone could consider a person as family if they weren't related by blood? She opened her mouth to ask this, but refrained at the last moment. "Was anyone else on board close to Kes?"

"Neelix can tell you everything you'd want to know. He knows Kes better than anyone."

Seven thanked the captain, and left her ready room for the Mess Hall, eager to learn more about Kes. She entered the empty hall, looking around for Neelix, before she spotted him in the kitchen, leaning over a pot on the counter.

"Neelix. I wish to speak with you."

The Talaxian man was startled by this sudden announcement, nearly knocking over the pot he was seaoning for the crew's dinner that night. "Seven!! You nearly startled me out of my wits!" He clutched at his chest, trying to catch his breath, before a confused look appeared on his face. "...What do you need to talk to _me_ for?

"I require information about a woman named Kes who was on board Voyager. The Doctor asked me to learn more about her as part of my social lessons. Captain Janeway told me you would know more than anyone else."

Neelix froze, looking Seven right in the eyes as she cocked an eyebrow at him. "...Where would you like me to start?"

* * *

"Kes was Ocampa, a species whose members only lived up to nine years. I looked after her and dated her for a short time... We came aboard Voyager together and she studied medicine from the Doctor. She also had the Ocampan telepathy, and trained her abilities with Tuvok." Neelix leaned back in his chair, looking for cues from Seven on whether to continue talking or not. "...She was a petite little thing, and wouldn't hurt a fly, but had a strong sense of justice and would always stand up for the underdog. She was friends with practically everyone."

Seven considered this, almost wishing she had been Kes's friend, too.

"Is there anything else you'd like to know about her?"

"Due to my... insufficient state of mind at the time, I do not recall her appearance as anything more than a featureless being."

Neelix considered this statement for a moment, before gesturing for Seven to wait at the table. He went into the kitchen, digging through a couple cabinets to find a PADD and bring it back. "I have some photos from her third birthday," he said, sitting across from the taller woman once again. "She looked like a dream that day." He looked at the PADD lovingly for a moment, before handing it to Seven. "See for yourself."

Looking at the photo, Seven could feel her heart immediately begin to beat faster and her face begin to flush. The girl in the photo was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen! She had no idea why her heart rate was increasing in reaction to seeing Kes, this was just another person, like herself. Neelix noticed Seven's reaction, and began to feel concerned.

"...Seven? Are you okay?"

She put the PADD down, and averted her gaze from both it and Neelix. "...I am fine. I think I should be returning to Sick Bay."

* * *

Her heart fluttered with every step she took towards Sick Bay. She had to figure out what this feeling was, and why her symptoms were even more exacerbated every time she thought of that picture of Kes. She had certainly never felt like this before, especially so suddenly, from simply seeing an image of a person. It had to be a reaction to something else, she figured, there was no reason to feel this way over an image. Despite this, the words kept echoing in her head - how gentle Kes was, how kind and sweet she was with everyone, how strong, how smart - those thoughts and ideas combined with someone with those... immaculate features! Seven found herself so short of breath she thought she might pass out by the time she made it up to Sick Bay.

"Good afternoon, Seven!" The Doctor chimed another greeting at her for the second time that day, before realizing she was under distress. He ran over to her, grabbing her arm gently but firmly, walking her over to sit down on one of the beds. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

She blushed, looking up at the Doctor's big, dark eyes. "I heard about Kes from the Captain and Neelix. Neelix showed me an image of her, and I... I begun to feel dizzy."

The Doctor scanned her with his medical tricorder, and all her signs appeared normal aside from her blood pressure having risen quite above normal. "You're perfectly alright. But, if I didn't know better, I might say you have a bit of a crush on the idea of Kes."

"A... crush?"

"Affectionate feelings, a very common variation of love."

Seven almost chuckled at this remark. "I can assure you I'm not... in love. I know nothing but secondhand reports of her personality and appearance."

"It's not a stretch. But perhaps, you are learning how to identify more of your own internal emotions and feelings, which is a big step." He paused, putting away his tricorder. "I think that's enough of our social lessons for one day. Try and get some rest."

Seven stayed in her cargo bay for the rest of the evening, unable to think of anything but Kes. She looked through all computer records relating to Kes, feeling the need to find out as much as absolutely possible. Remembering the holodeck's ability to recreate realistic depictions of historical figures, an idea crossed her mind. An idea that would certainly help with her social lessons if she wanted to learn from the very best, just as the Doctor had...


End file.
